The West Hollywood City Council voted to prohibit discrimination against those in nontraditional relationships. (photo by Jon Viscott)

The West Hollywood City Council took a step toward supporting diverse families at its March 2 meeting with the adoption of an ordinance that alters the city’s municipal code to prohibit discrimination based on a family’s relationship structure. This includes people who are in multi-partner, consensual non-monogamous or polyamorous relationships.

The council also directed staff to create a task force and look at a potential registration program that might allow partners to share in benefits within the city. In explaining why the group was needed to discuss how the registration process might work, Mayor John Heilman recalled when West Hollywood first created a domestic partnership program, many decades before same-sex marriage was considered a realistic possibility on the federal level.

“As I recall, when we did domestic partnership registration, we created the registration program, but it took several years to work out some of the issues with employee benefits and to convince insurance companies that they weren’t going to lose a lot of money by insuring domestic partners – which was a big fear at that time,” Heilman said. “So, that can be part of the task force work.”

“This may be the first [ordinance of its kind] in the state of California, so we hope to do this well and get it right in that time invested by our staff to do that work,” Councilwoman Chelsea Byers said.

Councilwoman Lauren Meister asked about the potential effect on taxpayers if benefits were expanded.

“That’s part of what the working group would be looking at,” City Attorney Lauren Langer replied. “That’s the more complicated part. And so that’s something that I think would … require a little bit more study and analysis and review of the benefits policies, and things of that nature, to be able to report back on that piece.”

The task force was given a six-month timeline to return with recommendations. Several community members spoke in favor of the ordinance, including resident Christina Fialho, who serves as the president of the bisexual representation advocacy group Rewrite the Biline.

“I’m also here as a community member who believes deeply in the power and responsibility of this council to create the world we want to live in,” Fialho said. “The current legal system was never designed for all of us. It has evolved over time because courageous local leaders like yourselves chose to expand its protections. As an attorney, I’ve spent my career managing risk. I understand caution, but I also know that there are moments when the potential for justice far outweighs the fear of stepping into the unknown, and this is one of those moments the opposition has pushed boundaries.”

“As the executive director of a global LGBTQ+ youth organization, I think every day about how law and culture play into the future of the next generation,” resident Brian Wenke said. “Do they support a world where folks can show up as they are? Family structures are evolving, and our policies should evolve alongside them. If we believe in protecting families in all their forms, then we need to structure. We need structure, accountability and a clear timeline to ensure follow through.”

“I’m a proud bi person … one of the many things I have learned in my life is that no two families look the same,” resident Aaron Hammersley said. “That has been true before, and it is true now. It is one of the many things that are beautiful about love. While I am personally monogamous in my relationships, I do not believe I am better or worse than someone who is not. Polyamorous people and multi partner families deserve dignity, clarity and protection under the law, just as I am afforded.”

Resident Megan Katz is polyamorous and a librarian working toward her masters degree in marriage and family therap. A West Hollywood resident for 23 years, Katz appeared at the council meeting alongside her two children.

“I have my children here today because I wanted them to see firsthand how we as citizens affect change on the local level that can improve our own lives significantly,” she said. “And I can’t tell you how important this legislation is to me. Protections for non-monogamous and nontraditional families are mostly nonexistent – growing barely right here before our eyes – and there’s really no reason for them to not exist. They should be there, and I’m excited to see this happening, to be part of it. We are contributing members of our societies, and advancements like this affirm that we deserve the same rights as anyone else.”